Authors: Roseanne Dowell
The desire in his eyes told me what he
longed for. I squirmed in my seat. Excitement rushed through my body.
"Well then, Mr. Rhett, you might not have too long to wait."
"Now that, my dear, sounds like a
promise."
"That..." I reached across the
seat and rested my hand on his thigh, just near enough to brush the bulge in
his pants. "...is exactly what it is."
The shudder that went through his body
wasn't lost on me. I'd never excited a man before. At least, not that I knew
of. Not the way I excited Bill. I'd never been so bold with a man before
either. Never wanted to. But Bill was different. Something about him drove me
to do things I'd never dreamed of doing.
Never even imagined doing. Never even
knew you could do.
Bill took my hand and raised it to his
lips. "Watch it, Miss Scarlet, or I might be tempted to stop the car right
here."
"Oh, Mr. Rhett, you wouldn't
dare." Half of me hoped he would. Hell, when had I turned into such an
insatiable slut?
"Girl, don't tempt me."
He ran his tongue across the palm of my
hand, and I lost it. Searing wet heat gushed between my legs. I leaned my head
back and groaned. Already, I could imagine his tongue between my legs, doing
things I'd never known existed until last night.
Not that I was a prude. I'd heard the
talk from my college classmates. I'd just never paid much attention to it. I
had other things on my mind. My career for one. I didn't have time for men.
Oh, what I'd been missing. Yet, I was
glad I hadn't been like the other girls. Casual sex wasn't my thing. It had to
mean something. I was glad I hadn't given in before.
Bill was special. Too special and I was
in big trouble. Mentally and physically. When I fell in love, I didn't know.
Oh, I was in love with him, no doubt about it. The question was– how did Bill
feel about me.
Chapter Twenty-One
Fortunately, they pulled in front of the
house and the danger of pulling off to the side of the drive ended. What he'd
like to do was take her up to one of the bedrooms, but he knew better. Not in
someone else's house, especially a clients. It would have to wait until they
got home. Hell, he waited for her this long, another hour or so wasn't going to
make any difference.
He got out of the car and hurried around
to the passenger side, but Wendy was already out. Too bad, he liked to watch
her get out of the car. He took her hand and began the long climb up the steps.
Why anyone wanted all these steps before you got to the front door was beyond
him. Why didn't they just build the house on ground level?
He inserted the key, went in and pushed
the numbers to turn off the alarm. Why hadn't it gone off when someone broke
in? Already, he saw water trickling towards the front door.
Wendy groaned. "What a mess."
She stood in the living room. Water seeped from the kitchen into the dining
room and stained the carpeting. She walked toward the stairway. Water oozed
through the carpeting onto her shoes. Fortunately, she had worn her boot-type
shoes. She started upstairs.
"Let me know what you find up
there," Bill said. "I'm heading into the kitchen. He was ankle deep
in water. "Damn!" This wasn't something they needed. He grabbed his
cell phone and punched in the numbers. "Frank, how soon can you have a
crew out here?"
They had to get this mess cleaned up
before they could even begin to replace the plumbing. "On their way, good.
Okay, see you in a few."
Hopefully, Gladys's insurance was going
to pay for this. Not that she didn't have the money, but why should she pay for
something like this? The front door opened, and Bill went to see who it was.
Kathy stood in the foyer looking around.
Crap, he didn't need her here to complicate things. Damn it! What the hell was
she doing here? Before he had a chance to ask, she spotted him.
"Bill, honey! I missed you."
Next thing he knew, she threw her arms around
him and kissed him, hard on the lips. He tried to push her away, but she had a
bear hug locked on him. He turned his head away from her kiss in time to see
Wendy stop on the stairs.
Awe, shit. How was he going to explain
this? She just stood there, staring at him. The look on her face said it all.
He knew what she was thinking. Damn it, he had to explain. Set things right. He
finally got a hold of Kathy's arms and pried her loose. Too late. Wendy flew
down the steps and slammed the door on her way out. Not that she could go far,
she didn't have her car.
"What the hell's wrong with
you?" Bill brushed Kathy's hands off him.
"What do you mean?"
She had that pouty look on her face that
he hated. Dumb bitch pouted more than any woman he ever met. One of the reasons
he quit dating her. Should have fired her ass too. But she was good at her job,
and most of the time he managed to avoid her.
"I mean what was all that about?"
"I missed you." Kathy put her
hand on his cheek and ran it across to his lips. "Didn't you miss
me?"
"What the hell are you talking
about?" He hadn't seen her in weeks.
"I haven't seen you for a while. How
come you don't call me anymore?"
"I told you. It won't work between
us." He thought he'd made it pretty clear the last time he took her out.
What more could he have said?
"I thought you were just angry at
me. Come on, doll, you know you didn't mean it." She put her arms around
him and tried to kiss him.
Bill pushed her arms away. "Look,
Kathy, I already told you, there's no future for us. We have nothing in
common."
Kathy smirked at him. "The sex was
good."
Bill shook his head. Even that wasn't any
good, but he didn't want to hurt her that bad. "You can't build a life on
sex."
What the hell was he doing standing here
arguing with her? He had to find Wendy, had to explain. He brushed past Kathy
and headed for the door.
"Sure you can." Kathy's voice
came from behind him.
Great, she was following him. So be it.
He pulled the door open, and it slammed into the wall. Who cared, they were
replacing most of them anyway. He didn't see Wendy anywhere. He almost flew
down the steps. He got to the bottom just in time to see Wendy get into Frank's
car. Damn it, where was she going?
"Wendy!" He raised his arms to
flag them down. Too late. Frank turned in the horseshoe drive and drove away.
"Shit!"
"Who was that?" Kathy came to
stand next to him.
"That was the woman I'm going to
marry." Had those words really come out of his mouth?
They did, and damn if he didn't mean
them. All he had to do was convince Wendy. He couldn't help but grin. Hell, she
already introduced him to Nick as her fiancé, why not go for it?
He imagined her arguments. They didn't
know each other long enough. She had her career. Hell, she could keep her
career, he didn't care. What made her think she couldn't juggle a career and
marriage? A lot of woman did it. His brother's wives worked. Didn't she even
say her sisters had careers?
What kind of hare-brained idea made her
think she couldn't have a successful career along with marriage? Now all he had
to do was convince her. He'd never been surer of anything in his life.
First, he had to explain Kathy. Not that
there was anything to explain. Hell, he'd only dated her for a couple of weeks.
He had no idea where she got the idea they were an item or what made her show
up here today.
Unfortunately, it was going to have to
wait. The police pulled in, and he had to get the crew started on the clean up.
Some of the guys already arrived. He'd have to catch up with Wendy later.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Bill pulled his car into the drive. Damn
it, Wendy's car was gone. Crap, he'd been counting on her coming over later. He
got out, slammed the car door, and hurried into the house. A quick shower and
he'd go over there. He had to explain, had to make her understand. He let Leo
out of the crate and outside, then waited for him to come in.
"Good boy." He rubbed the top
of the dog's head. He hated to crate him up again so soon, but Wendy took
priority. He snapped on the water for the shower and undressed. Thoughts of
Wendy in the shower this morning aroused him. Damn, he wanted that woman in
more ways than one.
He swore he could feel her fingers
running through the hair on his chest, creeping downward toward his erection.
Already it stood to attention. Hell, he had it bad.
He snapped off the hot water and stood
under a stream of cold water. He shivered, flipped off the water, and got out
of the shower. He needed to get dressed, get over to Wendy's and make her
understand.
Everything had been going along well
until Kathy entered the picture. What the hell was he going to do about her? He
had a feeling it wasn't over yet. Something told him she wasn't going to give up.
Some women just couldn't understand English. What he ever saw in her he
couldn't figure out. Okay, with her long blond hair and legs that didn't quit,
she was hot. He had to admit that. And she was good at her job. How was he
supposed to know she was high maintenance?
Unfortunately, what she made up for in
looks, she sure as hell lacked in personality. Sulky little thing. Spoiled
brat, that's what she was. Daddy's little girl used to getting her own way. Not
to mention, they had nothing in common. How she dealt with customers he'd never
know. But they seemed to like her.
He threw the towel on the sink and headed
for the bedroom. Leo followed along. Hmm, maybe he'd take Leo along for moral
support. How could she throw both of them out? "Want to go for a ride,
buddy?"
Leo wagged his tail and danced around the
room.
"Okay, okay. Let me get my clothes
on." Bill put his leg into his jeans. Leo bumped against his knees and
knocked him to the floor. "Yeah, you like her too, don't ya, boy?"
Leo sat next to him and rested his head
on Bill's knee.
"We'll get her back. You'll
see." He lifted Leo's head and stood up. "Yep, she'll never be able
to refuse us." Bill pulled his shirt over his head, looked in the mirror
and ran a brush through his hair. "Good enough. She'll have to take me the
way I am. Let's go, boy." He flipped off the light and ran down the steps,
Leo followed behind.
* * *
Bill pulled into Wendy's drive and turned
off his headlights. "Here goes nothing." He opened the door and
waited for Leo to follow. He took hold of the leash. "Okay, here's the
plan. I'll ring the bell and hide. You sit and wait for her to answer.
Okay?"
Leo looked up at him and wagged his tail.
They walked up onto the porch. "Sit,
Leo."
Leo sat, and Bill moved off to the side so
Wendy couldn't see him when she answered the door. The light came on in the
hall. He held his breath.
"Leo?" Wendy's voice came from
behind the door.
Bill wished he could see her. Wondered if
she was looking for him. Finally the door opened.
"What are you doing out here,
boy?"
Wendy stuck her head out the door. She
stiffened when she saw him.
"Hey, Miss Scarlet." He prayed
she wouldn't shut the door in his face. Saw the smile that changed too quickly
to a frown. At least he knew he could still make her smile.
"What?"
Gone was the playful Miss Scarlet of
earlier in the day. He should have known it wasn't going to be easy. "Can
we come in?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and
glared at him.
"I just want a chance to
explain."
"Explain? I don't see anything to
explain. It was all pretty clear."
"No, it's not. You have no
idea."
"I know what I saw."
Bill heaved a sigh. "You're the most
stubborn woman I've ever met."
"Is that what you came here to tell
me?"
"No, I came here to...Look, five
minutes. Just give me five minutes."
Wendy looked at her watch. "Okay, go
on."
"I meant inside."
She hesitated for a minute, but then
opened the door and moved aside so they could come in.
The minute he was inside and the door
closed behind him he took her in his arms and pulled her to him. She stood
still as a statue, frozen in place. But she shivered. From him, anger, or just
the cold he wasn't sure. He hoped from him.
He tried to kiss her, and she turned
away.
"You've already used up two
minutes."
Finally, he let her go. Nothing was going
to come of him forcing himself on her. "I wanted to explain about
Kathy."
"Kathy?"
"The girl you saw this
afternoon."